Project hits a roadblock

Work on the widening of Interstate Highway 26 and Remount Road interchange has gone smoothly, but some workers at the Aviation Business Park are wondering why construction on Remount Road has come to a halt.

One employee told Watchdog that he called the state Department of Transportation and that they told him to call the contractor.

"No work is being done, no contractor is in sight, and it's like we've been left in the cold," he said. The driveways to the business park remain closed, making it hard on visitors and forcing employees to drive though parking lots to get where they need to go, he said.

Watchdog contacted Earl Capps, communications specialist for U.S. Group, the construction company working on the project. Capps said rain and recent design changes caused a minor delay in work along Remount Road from the new interchange toward the Charleston International Airport.

Capps said work will begin this spring and that the actual start date is dependant largely on the weather. "I wish I had a better answer, but I can't say for sure until the weather clears up." He said it's vital that crews have good conditions to ensure the road's durability.

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Remount Road will have a base layer of asphalt and a 10-inch surface layer of concrete, a tough surface that Capps said "is built for all the truck traffic we'll have there in the next hundred years." Crews need higher temperatures before putting down the asphalt and drier weather before they can properly compact the earth.

Capps said the durability of the road is particularly important with Boeing's decision to build a manufacturing plant near the airport. "That's going to be a primary interchange for a lot of traffic" heading to the Boeing plant, he said of the Remount Road interchange.

Capps encouraged people to visit the company's Web site, i26aviationremount.com, and to e-mail or phone him if they have any questions about the project.

Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554.